Is it new battery time ?

Originally Posted by sunny5280

Is there some problem you're trying to solve? Or are you just concerned about the voltage of the battery? As far as I can tell you haven't experienced any problem but rather decided to read the battery voltage for some unknown reason.

I already said why, because I don't know how old the battery is, I'm assuming it's the original and the car has been stationary for a couple of days now so I wanted to check the battery to see if a new one is needed.

Why, don't I just wait till it dies you ask ? Because I don't want to be stranded in some random place because of my battery.

For what it's worth, I intend to perform a Mike-Miller-style preventative with my car's battery one of these days. The car's approaching 6 years old, original battery.

Originally Posted by aleks001

I already said why, because I don't know how old the battery is, I'm assuming it's the original and the car has been stationary for a couple of days now so I wanted to check the battery to see if a new one is needed.

Why, don't I just wait till it dies you ask ? Because I don't want to be stranded in some random place because of my battery.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...08&postcount=2

Originally Posted by CuttyBuddyOX

Off topic.... but...

Go Cougs!

Thanks kindly! That motion is always in order, any time! Go, COUGS!

Originally Posted by sunny5280

Is there some problem you're trying to solve? Or are you just concerned about the voltage of the battery? As far as I can tell you haven't experienced any problem but rather decided to read the battery voltage for some unknown reason.

Actually a fair question, but the voltage drop you've seen makes me wary. If the car sits for a couple more days and the voltage drops below 12V, I'd consider the battery to be toast.

OTOH, if it doesn't drop farther, I'd probably keep driving it. You're doing the right measurement by using a multimeter on the battery terminals.

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Thanks kindly! That motion is always in order, any time! Go, COUGS!



Actually a fair question, but the voltage drop you've seen makes me wary. If the car sits for a couple more days and the voltage drops below 12V, I'd consider the battery to be toast.

OTOH, if it doesn't drop farther, I'd probably keep driving it. You're doing the right measurement by using a multimeter on the battery terminals.

Yeah, this is pretty much what I've decided as well

FWIW: When my OEM battery went south (apparently because of my bad behaviour), never once did I get a LOW BAT signal. It just wouldn't fire up. Upon pushing the key into the slot on the dash and pressing the start button I got all sorts of clicking and flashing dash lights, but no definitive warnings.

The lesson being, you can slowly drive a battery to it's death, like I apparently did with limited mileage hops and repetetive door opening cycles without locking the car. Now, every time I get out of the car, I lock the door. I also now, routinely tender the battery after the car's weekly bath.

When you guys (and gals) shut your cars off, are you holding down the button long enough? When I bought my car, the previous owner told me to hold down the off button so it completely shuts off.

FYI, I had "increased battery discharge" warnings last night and this morning (was playing around with my dkan cable last night). I measured the voltage after half an hour from returning home from work and got 12.32. Seems my battery is still fighting to stay alive

Day 3 of car being stationary - 11.98

My 2 cents for what it is worth; get a new battery. If anything, it will give you a peace of mind. I have the original battery in our '07 E90 and have used a tender on it every winter while the car sleeps. That being said, I intend on replacing it this spring just for prevention purposes. Much like the OP, I don't need to get stranded anywhere due to a dead battery.

A

Originally Posted by aleks001

Day 3 of car being stationary - 11.98

Did you see my earlier post? Are you measuring voltage as soon as you unlock the doors? Try leaving the hood open and check the voltage ~10 minutes after.

Here is what I've been able to ascertain:

• The OP is not experiencing any issues related to a weak battery
• The OP suspects the battery is original thus raising the concern it should be replaced

Given this he should replace the battery and be done with it.

2006xi 138k miles original battery, have not tested w/meter, garage kept, 80 miles daily, will replace if I get any hint of rough start...

Originally Posted by ptrcd003

Did you see my earlier post? Are you measuring voltage as soon as you unlock the doors? Try leaving the hood open and check the voltage ~10 minutes after.

I must have missed it sorry, yes, I'm checking as soon as I unlock the doors. Today I'll leave it unlocked for a while first and then check

Originally Posted by sunny5280

Here is what I've been able to ascertain:

• The OP is not experiencing any issues related to a weak battery
• The OP suspects the battery is original thus raising the concern it should be replaced

Given this he should replace the battery and be done with it.

Sums it up pretty well :P

Check after 18 minutes as this is when the car goes to sleep mode

Ok, so day 4, unlocked the car it read 11.98 immediately and started to creep up slowly lol. So I waited 20 minutes and it finally rested at 12.12

So I think the battery is still good, it's obviously not at it's best, but I think it's got plenty left. I will charge it up and continue using it.